Goertz Thoughts

You've probably seen these . If you are in high school (or a teacher), you definitely have. The message is good. Water from Mt. Everest to remind you to stay humble during the best of times. Mud from Dead Sea to remind you to stay hopeful during the worst of times. A real one is $18. I've seen knockoffs for much cheaper. But for the $18, you get a guarantee of... something. The beads are authenticated by FTI consulting. As near as I can tell, they don't do the tests themselves. They just promise that they saw the tests being done. Notice what the certificate doesn't say: It says nothing about where the mud and water came from. Just that there is mud and water there.  Would you, without access to a laboratory, be able to determine if the water were from the tap or Everest? No. So the question really becomes one of faith: do you trust the people who are selling these bracelets not to lie to you? If you do, the bracelets are worth the hype. If you do n...

I like being a teacher. However, it can be hard to let students go at the end of the year, especially the seniors. I'll get over it. Here are a few thoughts from the last day (5/26) of our 2017 class. One of the interesting things about having a composite science certification (meaning that Texas recognizes my ability to teach any high school science class) is that the classes I teach can change from year to year. Two years ago, I taught many of our just finished senior class in chemistry. Just regular chemistry, not PreAP and not IPC. Still, it was great to see so many returning faces this past year when I taught primarily senior classes. David Kim made an amazing tribute video for the senior class. You should watch it. Good pranks this year. Nothing destructive, just mildly annoying. For example, my science prep room was lined with cups filled with water. That's my mobile desk in the middle I was also given the following teacher superlative: I just realized ...

I seldom stop to think how important everyday items are: lightbulbs, windows, tables, toilets. Oh, and toilet paper! (I really think that if society ever collapses, I will miss plumbing the most. I really enjoy the fact that my excretions go somewhere when I pull a handle). Recently, my oven broke. It is an old oven, probably around 22 years now. It had been showing signs of age for a while. I kept telling myself "It will be fine. It can last a few more months." And then, it wasn't fine. The bottom heating element went out so I had to cook everything on broil. I opened up the circuit panel and hit things with a screwdriver. That fixed it for a few weeks, but then it started to overheat. I lost a whole pan of bacon and bacon isn't cheap! I could just order a new oven, but they don't make ovens the same size anymore. The width is fine, but modern ovens are 4 inches shorter than mine. I don't have time during the year to do even a small remodeling project. ...

You really should have seen Godspell  this weekend. It was great. Probably the most technically proficient musical that Savio has done so far. While most of the parables presented in the show come from the Gospel of Matthew (while typing this, I just got the pun Godspell...Gospel. I'm a bit slow sometimes), there is one in particular that come from  Luke 12:16-21 . It is the parable of the rich fool. It warns of the danger of putting too much stock in planning. It got me thinking about how we as humans live our lives. I really don't think that most of us (myself included) focus enough on the present moment.  Now, I'm not saying we should live hedonisticly "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die" is a horrible motto. If you don't die, you'll be sick and hung over. Nor am I saying that we should ignore the past. Your scrapbooks are amazing. I swear I didn't cry when reading them. Why would you even suggest such a thing? Al...

So, I've been under pressure from seniors to start a blog. They said they will read it and as a teacher, I can't pass up any excuse to get students to read. Since this is the last week for seniors, I'm going to focus on the last few things I want them to know before they graduate. However, these are good lessons for everyone. In class, I often use the phrase "If there's one thing I can teach you before you graduate...". Some have pointed out that the "one thing" changes daily, but that's fine. They can all be the one. So here's a top 10 list of advice for graduating seniors. 1. No one can force you to do anything.     Life is all about choices. Just because you don't like the alternatives doesn't rob you of your ability to choose. 2. High school is not the best time of your life.     You've just begun to live. If these were the best years, that would be a sad life. College (while fun) is also not the best time of your...